Five years, in review

Going back to what I wrote on Thursday, June 7, 2007, I smile. That day was a turning point in my life, my first foray into my independent life. I went to Portugal knowing no one, followed by exploring life and culture in many countries of Europe and northern Africa. What makes me smile, though, is how I completely forgot about this blog post until the end of 2011 when I was doing some reflection. What makes me smile is my how interests and "dreamer" expectations somehow worked out.

Here's some Portuguese culture I loved.

Indeed, a close friend pointed out "you are a freak of nature, but I love you."

So, what did I say 4-and-a-half-years ago?

What Pete plans to have done:
9) Peace Corps - November '08 - January '10 11
10) Designer, or something, in Colorado/Europe - Spring '10 11
12) Quit my job - April '12 13
13) Complete life goals:
-Climb Mt. Everest
-Read all books that have gotten Pulitzer Prizes
-Swim English Channel
-Whateva other ones I'll figure out later.
15) Find some other job / go crawling back to old job, '13 14
16) Wife and Kids (adopt 2?), '14 15
18) Have my son daughter or son create a blog of his her or his own, Priceless

I made a few mistakes corrections for dates that I got wrong (2 years 3 months after Nov '08 is Jan '11, not Jan '10 ).

A year-and-a -half after I wrote that timeline, I joined the Peace Corps as I had forgotten I had planned. I got back from that at the time I had forgotten I had planned. Got a job as a designer (designing engineer) as I had forgotten I had anticipated (which I feel very fortunate to have ... or maybe it was fate?).

So, what does this mean for my future? According to the prediction it made, it means I will continue to work for another year and a few months before taking all my savings and quit my job in lieu of personal exploration and accomplishments.

I currently view that as unrealistic, as as more-mature me realizes the benefits of job security and health care. But, who knows... Brick - I may keep it up, as you supported me in saying! And Nancy, my interests on that issue remain the same. And Mary, I don't know who you are...

Dreams can come true.

4x the Awesome

I'm currently working on a purchase for Amazon.com. I am getting a Thank You present for a friend, which costs $22.99. For the round $25 you can get free shipping with Amazon. So, why not try to find something that costs $2.01 instead of paying that or more for shipping?

I considered my starting point. There have to be some "readable" books for that price, I thought to myself... How tough could that search be?

As it turns out, very tough:
- $4.73 - More Stuff on My Cat: 2x the Stuff + 2x the Cats = 4x the Awesome

Notice the keyword "more" I can only imagine the joy in reading the first version.

- $3.11 - Meat: A Love Story


- $4.80 - Cooking With Hot Flashes: And Other Ways to Make Middle Age Profitable


- $2.29 - The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything


- $3.86 - Rick and Bubba for President: The Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive Take on Washington

Includes Best of Rick and Bubba CD

- $3.74 - How to Make Love to Adrian Colesberry (by Adrian Colesberry)


- $3.98 - The Bad Ass Girl's Guide To Poker: All You Need To Beat The Boys


- $3.14 - The Best of Playboar


And that's just one random page in my search.

I'll probably get one of the two Simpsons books listed, or for the exact price of $2.01, I could get The Island at the End of the World: A Novel.


That one could be okay, I guess. Published by Penguin.

I'm trying to figure out what this says about humanity. There are a lot of books out there. Not all of them are classics. These listed all have publishers (i.e. not self-published). Someone thought they'd be a success. People have a lot to say. I guess that's what it says.

The Moon Surrounded by Two Planets

As promised, some pictures.
Burning leaves after raking them, the sunset over my school, me, looking out in Maputo, the moon surrounded by two planets, and my host family (not in that order).

Peanut Surprise (January 3, 2009)

January 3rd consisted of a lot. For example, reading, and a chocolate taste test. Let me share with you my summary of various popular delicious chocolatey treats. The following excerpt is directly copied from my little journal:

“03 Jan 09
Taste Test
1) Butterfinger – Crispety, crunchety, peanut buttery. Too sweet.
2) Twix – Caramel’s good, but sticky. Wafer not too much flavor.
3) Milky Way – Creamy. Like toffee, full flavor remains in mouth.
4) 3 Musketeers – Sweet, sweet, sweet. A creamy (?) paste surrounded in chocolate. Not very pleasant.
5) Babe Ruth – Peanut surprise. Good all-around chocolate and peanut flavor. Sweet as well.
6) Snickers – Good peanut flavor. Not too sweet. Not sticky. Pretty good.
7) Milky Way Midnight – Caramel surrounded in chocolate. Boring flavor. Sticky, too sweet.

All-in-all favorite: Snickers.

Thanks, Russell (+ dad) for bringing it.”

Russell is my roommate. Condolences go out to him for him now missing 8 pieces of chocolate. 7 for the taste test + one final Snickers. Also, writing this blog entry made me want both a Snickers and a Butterfinger, not in that order. Updated total: 10.

Fresh New View (January 2, 2009)

Every night not plagued by clouds, I gaze directly upwards at the Milky Way. It coincides with Orion’s Belt (which is the only constellation I know, thanks to Men in Black), and it’s beautiful. First of all, the stars in this part of the world are beyond words, glistening proudly seeming non-affected by light pollution. I don’t remember them being so brilliant when in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. To be able to see these stars for the next 2 years (with a potential 3rd) fills me with sheer excitement!

I first saw the Milky Way on Christmas Eve’s eve. The visiting PCVs and I were just staring northward at the fresh new view we hadn’t yet seen in our lifetimes when I noticed there was a distinct arc of brightness. I asked, and Abby, a volunteer also living in my province, pointed out that what I saw was in fact the Milky Way. We all, then, stared in amazement at the ‘Way, something we had heard about in school for years, but only then were seeing for the first time. That night, we also saw about 6 shooting stars, including one huge one that left a long streak in the sky for about 5 seconds.

I was going for a jog on the evening of December 29th and, after greeting about a dozen locals, I found myself in the middle of a field amongst a great 360-degree view: to my back was a clear blue sky, to my left a fantastic sunset shining brilliant hues of vermillion and peach, to my right a beautiful array of clouds, both white and ones reflecting shades of the sunset, and to my front a huge approaching thunderstorm. Looking ahead I saw ominously dark clouds, the outline of the rain falling in the distance below those clouds, and lightning that would flash about 5 times in rapid succession in the one place and with the same shape.

With these spectacular views, as well as spending both Christmas and New Years at the beach, it’s a great reassurance that Peace Corps was a good decision.